EFL Learners’ Attitude towards Developing Speaking Skills at the University of Taif, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Speaking is the most difficult as well as the most complex of all the four skills, as it requires expertise in, and exposure to, the target language. Different factors are found responsible for poor speaking skills among EFL learners in general and Saudi EFL learners in particular. The current study investigates the influence of various factors related to teachers, learners, and learning environment on the students' attitude towards learning speaking skills. The questionnaire survey was employed to elicit responses from 184 undergraduate EFL male and female students in Taif University. Data analyzed through SPSS reveals that out of five variables only one was insignificant, whereas all other variables showed significant positive effect. In the light of the findings, it could be inferred that lack of measures on the part of teachers and learners as well as the classroom setting/environment do not fully facilitate both the male and female students to learn speaking skills in a better way. The poor level of their skills in English is attributed to the variety of teachers', learners', and environment related factors. And these factors affect negatively on the attitude of learners towards learning speaking skills.

English Language Speaking Skill Issues in an EMP Context: Causes and Solutions

“…In addition, Cycle Two informed that learners were deemed aware of their oral performance strengths and weaknesses while having a positive desire to exert more efforts to improve their level in speaking. The reasons elicited for affecting negatively learners' speaking performance were consistent with a bunch of relevant studies (Al-Jamal & Al-Jamal, 2014;Gan, 2012;Rabab'ah, 2005;Soomro & Farooq, 2018;Tuan & Mai, 2015). EMP learners are in need of rich effective drilling and practice of various oral aspects, and more STT in and out of classrooms as well as using the target language more often; urging for the use of L2 as the main medium in language classrooms.…”

“…In the context of this research, Saudi Arabia, Soomro and Farooq (2018) investigated the effect of several factors related to learners, teachers, and learning environment on learners' attitude to learning oral and speaking skills. The data collected by using a questionnaire from 184 undergraduate EFL female and male learners at Taif University in Saudi Arabia.…”

Investigation of Factors Influencing Speaking Performance of Saudi EFL Learners

“…Thus, a variety of internal and external factors, including shyness, peer pressure, and anxiety, affect their performance. These findings correspond with those of Soomro and Farooq (2018). The respondents reported that they were unable to give their best performance in the class due to hesitation caused by the fear that they might make mistakes in speaking.…”

“…The method applied in this study is quantitative in nature; the survey questionnaire was distributed among 100 female and 100 male undergraduate students from various disciplines. This questionnaire was patterned after from the one used by Soomro and Farooq (2018), adapted to the needs and requirements of the context in which this present study was conducted. Questionnaires were distributed to student-participants randomly selected from both male and female sections in Majmaah University's College of Education.…”

“…Alhmadi (2014) likewise noted that anxiety occurs naturally when one learns speaking skills, and Asif 2017has found that Saudi EFL learners become fearful when they speak the language. Conversely, selfesteem and self-efficacy (cognitively construed forms of self-confidence) have been shown to positively impact motivation and language skills in learners (Piran, 2014), as has attitude on the part of the learner (Ahmed, 2015a(Ahmed, , 2015bAl Asmari, 2013;Alkaff, 2013;Al Noursi, 2013;Al samadani & Ibnian, 2015;Gardner & Lambert, 1972;Soomro & Farooq, 2018;Tanni, 2015).…”